Australian telecommunications giant Telstra has released a high-speed Internet service via by satelite.

Residents from rural and remote Australia will be among the first to be offered this new service, which will deliver Internet connection at speeds of up to 400Kbps through a new service known as Big Pond Advance.

Satellite delivery will compliment the Telstra cable network to deliver high bandwidth across an entire continent.

Ted Pretty, group managing director of Telstra Convergent Business, said bringing high-end benefits of the Internet to all Australians would create the basis of information-equality and ensure that opportunities for communicating are available equally in regional and rural Australia as in the major cities.

"It allows businesses based in regional or rural Australian to use the Internet for marketing, promotions or e-commerce just as city-based businesses have been, and it brings transactional capabilities to customers in every part of Australia," Pretty said.

The Federal government at the last election announced a commitment that it would provide customers in locations where access to a 64Kbps ISDN service is unavailable, a subsidy on the hardware required for the Big Pond Advance powered by satellite service.

This subsidy, which will also satisfy the Universal Service Obligation, is currently being developed by the government.